New Recipe!!!

Hey everyone, I've posted a new recipe on my 'Year in the Life' blog.  I have six months left where I'll be blogging on it everyday.  So, if you haven't been over there to check it out, I hope you'll take the time to scoot on over.  :)

The great thing about this recipe is that it can be served as an appetizer, as a salad topper, or as part of a larger meal.  Very summery, very light, very yummy! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Blessed beyond measure!
~ashley

Bring ON the Food

I love my annual Supper Club Christmas Party.  I have a fun crazy group of friends.  There are always gag gifts somewhere in the mix:  Mystique, the blown glass statue, and the farting Santa are some that have made their way into the mix over the past few years.  Stories from years past and the funny memories that go with them...AU/Georgia Tech game to you Ashley M.! 

The past few years my friend Lisa G. (who is a phenom in the kitchen!) and I have catered our CP.  It's cheaper and it's a chance to bring out our creative side and see if we can make a gourmet meal as inexpensive as possible.  I have to say that we aren't too shabby.  I like it too because we can eat off of fine china.  We only use it a few times every year anyway, so it's a chance to use it again!  Yea!

You know my obsession with Paul Prudhomme's different Magic products.  This summer we used them A LOT.  They are just so yummy, and well, I decided I wanted to break it out for one of the dishes I made for the dinner.

I did the sides this year.  We had:  Beef Tenderloin, Fresh Green Beans with Vinaigrette Dressing, Feta Mashed Potatoes, Baked Apricots, rolls, Red Velvet Cake, and Chocolate Cake.  Below is the finished plate.  Lisa made beef tenderloin, and it was divine!  You almost didn't need a knife to cut it.  It was beautiful.  I was tempted to pick-up my plate and lick it once all the food was gone.  (you'll be glad to know I didn't, it was just a fleeting thought...)



This is the centerpiece on the table.



 I hope the above recipes give you another idea of dishes you can make this Christmas season.  Bring on the food!!!

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

Traditions

This year was the first year ever we haven't hosted Thanksgiving.  It was a little wierd but also very nice.  We had a wonderful time in Tupelo spending time with Hopson's family.  Hopson's oldest brother, wife & 3 children live there.  Their 3 children are the same ages as Hoppy & Harry, and it is a hop, skip, and a jump for Hopson's parents to drive to have dinner with the family.


The basic ingredients

My sister-in-law, Sandy, is a wonderful cook.  (she also sets a beautiful table!  Southern Living needed pictures of her table.)  We had a lot of oh so delicious, traditional foods:  turkey, dressing, different vegetable casseroles, cranberry sauce, rolls, and of course, various desserts.  Because we didn't host this year Hopson didn't get one of his favorite dishes:  German Potato Salad. 

In the almost 18 years we have been married, he has always had German potato salad with Thanksgiving.  I know what you're thinking...German Potato Salad for Thanksgiving?  Hopson asked for it when we were first married, and to be the wonderfully sweet newly married wife I was, I fixed it for him; and it became a tradition.  To make the fam's Thanksgiving complete, I made them the GPS today.

After I added the German vinegar

Today while I was cooking, Harry totally cracked me up.  You need to know that Harry LOVES bacon.  He would eat it with every meal.  So, I'm cooking the onions and bacon, and I had just added the German vinegar, which will clear out your sinuses if you get a little whiff of it, and Harry says:  'Oh, bacon!'  He popped a bite size piece in his mouth & immediately spit it out with a 'UHG' sound.  He asked me what I put on it to make it taste that way.  I just giggled and told him it was the vinegar.  He said it scared him & ruined a perfectly good pound of bacon.  Crazy Harry, he makes me laugh. 

Everyone one else was very excited.  So with our leftover turkey, homemade mayonnaise, and veggies, we now have some German potato salad.

Y'all be blessed beyond measure & War Eagle,
~ashley

The final product

Springtime

I need to apologize to all of you for not posting any recipes in about forever.  Springtime is a crazy time for us, and like every other family we are running on full throttle.  I've been cooking standards lately.  Here is an oldie that the fam loves, but it's a goodie:  hamburger quiche.  I will serve it with green beans & fresh fruit.  It's a favorite dinner of mine because it's easy to double. 

Our state was hit very hard by all the tornadoes that came through Wednesday.  There are so many areas that have been devistated.  Please pray for our state. 

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

It's not easy, being green

Growing up, my brother, Cotton, would not eat green beans.  I mean he flat out refused.  My mom being ever so clever decided to try changing the name, and mommy beans were invented. Cotton told her that, no, these were definately green beans.  She assured him that they were mommy beans which were completely different from green beans.  He bought into it, and would eat mommy beans all the time.

When I had friends over to eat, which was a lot, we had mommy beans.  My friends never had to eat all their mommy beans, but they had to eat at least one bite.  I can't complain.  My mom never made us eat liver, brussel sprouts, or beets.  Eating green beans was a no brainer.

There is are a few tricks to having killer mommy beans:  Del Monte (and only Del Monte) cut green beans, bacon grease, and a pot dedicated only to green beans.  This pot does not get washed.  Let me reiterate this, do not wash the green bean pot.  By not washing the pot you are seasoning it.  Very similar to cast iorn skillets or if you have a pampered chef baking stone.  The bacon grease seasons the pot and makes the beans take yummy. When you're done using the pot, put the lid on it & store your leftover green beans in it in the fridge.  The next time you need beans, you pull out the pot, bring it to a quick boil and voila, you have green beans.  When ever you add a new can of green beans they need to cook for at least one hour.  Yes, this does boil out most of the nutrients, but it gives them a great dark green color & fills them with flavor.  If you want to add a little lemon juice you can.

We've been eating mommy beans as long as I can remember.  Once I had my own children, mommy beans became a staple in their diets.We have added a lot of different veggies as the children have gotten older, but this one is a hand-me-down, and extremely easy.  Cotton also eats a bigger variety of veggies, it's good to see he's not still hung-up on green beans.  :)

Eat your mommy beans & y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

Sing Dance Laugh Love

I was driving home from dropping E off at dance last night & what song comes on the radio?  Forget You by Cee Lo Green.  I cranked it up, opened the sunroof, and began to loudly sing along with the radio.  Why you may ask?  My Momma & Daddy. 

I grew up listening to The 4 Tops, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, The Commodores, Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons, and Clarence Carter.  (that's just the tip of the iceburg!)  Basically it was like we were listening to the soundtrack of The Big Chill all the time.  Momma & Daddy would sing & dance all around the house.  Momma would break out in The Skate. 

They were part of a dance club, and all of their friends danced too.  They would talk about going to 'The Hangout' in Panama City.  There was always laughter that accompanied the dancing & memories.  I liked watching my parents like this & I love remembering them this way.  Jemi Lynn & Evans Whaley, Cathy & Billy Moss, Betty & John Moss, are three of the couples who stand out in my mind who would hangout with Momma & Daddy.  I love each of these people for the joy brought to my parents.  Jemi Lynn & Evans have since joined my parents in heaven, and I still love them dearly.

Jemi Lynn Whaley did not like to cook.  The Whaley family would eat Thanksgiving Dinner with us each year & Jemi Lynn would always bring her blueberry congealed salad that was my favorite.  I'm so glad she gave me the recipe so long ago.  Every time I make it I think of her.  Since I'm trying my best to usher in springtime I thought I would post this recipe.  I would look pretty as part of your Easter lunch.  (It's blue.) 

Forget You sounds so much like the music my parents spoon fed us.  I know they would have gotten me to burn it on a cd for them and then coaxed me to hang out with them and dance too.  LOL.

If you don't listen to music with your kids, please start.  Sing loudly & dance boldly even if you do both badly!  I'm so glad I have this legacy to pass onto my children.  And yes, they have started to mock me to my face like I did to my mom.  It's all done with love & laughter though, and I hope as they grow-up and start to leave the home nest to grow-up & then start having families of their own that they will pass this tradition on to them.

So if you see us in the car around town jamming with the windows down don't hesitate to join us!  You'll be glad you did.    

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

From messed up to marvelous

Me & recipes, I just don't know what it is.  I don't think I could follow one to save my life...well maybe my life, or my husband & kids, but not anyone else.  Sorry. 

I am a rule follower by nature, so you think I could follow a silly little recipe.  That is a big fat nope!  I start off following it & then either forget to refer back to it or just change it altogether.  Is anyone feeling me out there, or am I just wandering alone in the forest of doing my own thing?

Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, is a wonderful cook and posts many recipes to her blog.  The one I have been meaning to try since the summer is Hot Crash Potatoes.  Doesn't that just sound fun?   It is fun, you get to boil potatoes and then squash them before you cook them again.  It's a very easy (and very good) recipe if you follow the directions, but if you don't you're left with some funky potatoes that are a little dry. :/

I started off great.  I went over the recipe so as not to miss anything.  I did this as I was working out this morning at 5am.  (that could be fault #1)  I took the recipe into my bathroom after I worked out so I wouldn't leave it on my elliptical hence forgetting where I had left it.  (fault #2)  Well, there it stayed until after I had finished cooking the potatoes.  (and fault #3 not that I'm keeping count.)  Yep, I'm great at following directions.

What I noticed first was my potatoes were a tad dry except in places.  Directions say to take a pastry brush, which I have, and liberally coat the crushed potatoes with olive oil.  I drizzled, I didn't coat, I needed to coat.  I also didn't put enough spices on them, note to self, more spices on potatoes.  I cooked them the recommended time but they could have cooked another 10 minutes.

It's a good thing I did a dry run today b/c I'm going to be serving these to my supper club for our annual Christmas Party.  Needless to say, I will follow the directions on these a little closer on Sunday, or maybe not.  ;)  You'll be happy to know that I've taken my dry, funky looking potatoes and 1. liberally drizzled more olive oil on them; 2.  more spices have been added; and 3. placed them back into the oven to cook a little longer.  

What ever happens today, I know Sunday will be a marvelous dinner because I'll be sharing it with some wonderful friends & celebrating the Joy of Christmas.  Merry Christmas sweet readers!  I pray you will be blessed as you remember how 'the Word became flesh'.  Christ does make things that are messed up to be marvelous!

Y'all be blessed beyond measure & Merry Christmas,
~ashley